Circular-knitting machine.



H. SWINGLBHUR'ST. CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

APLIOATION FILED MAY 18, 1911.

Patented Feb. 17, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1` H. SWINGLEHURST. CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 18, 1911.

Patented Feb. 17.1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

memes.

HARRY SWINGLEHURST, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, -ASSIGNOR TO SCOTT @tW'ILLIAMS, INCORPORATED, OF CAMDEN', NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEWJERSEY.

CIRCULAR-KNITTING- MACHINE.

To allai/10m it may concern: v

Be it known `that I, HARRY SWTNGLEHURST, a citizen of the United States,residing in Boston, Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements inCircular-Knitting Machines, of which the following is a-speciication.

My'invention relates to that class'of circular knitting machines inwhich the needle cylinder rotates and the cam cylinder is relativelystationary, the object of my invention being to. provide for thenecessary lead of the yarn guide over the stitch cam when the machine isreciprocating While knitting toand-fro, as, for instance, in producingthe heel and toe pockets upon a 'tubular stocking web.

ln the accompanying drawings r-Figure 1 is a view, partly in verticalsection and.

partly in side elevation, illustrating the application of my inventionto a circular knitting machine of the general type of that shown in thepatent of George D. ayo, N o. 726,178, dated April 21, 1903, but havinga rotary needle cylinder and relatively sta tionary cam-ring instead ofthe reverse construction adopted fin the machine of said Mayo patent;Fig. 2 is a top or plan view of certain of the'elements shown in Fig. 1;Fig. 3 is a view, `partly in side elevation and partly in section, ofcertain other of the elements shownin Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a view similarto Fig. 3 but showing .certain parts in a different position; Fig. 5 isa view sho\v ing the relation of the yarn guide to the 'stitch cam ofthe machine when the needlev cylinder is moving in one direction; Fig. 6is a similar view showing the relation of the yarn guide to the stitchcam when the machine is moving in the opposite direction; Fig. 7 is aView showing certain of the elements of the machine in a differentrelation to one another from that illustrated in Fig. 2; Fig. 8 is aview of part of the ma-chine on a larger scale than Fig. 1, andillustrating a modification of the invention, and Fig. 9 is a .top orplan View of certain of the elements illustrated in Fig. 8.

A machine having a rotary needle cylinder and stationary cam ring ispreferable to one having the reverse arrangement of these parts, first,because higher speeds are. a ttainable for the reason that less mass 1s1n motion during the` knitting operation, and secondly, because, inmultiple feed machines,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led May 18, 1911.

Patented Feb. 1?, .1914.. serial No. 628,055. V

or Where yarn changers or splicers are cmployed and Where a number ofbcbbins are used, these bobbins can occupy a stationary position insteadof revolving about the axis of the machine as they must when the needlecylinder is stationary and the cam ring is ,caused to rotate orreciprocate.

In the drawings, 1 represents the bed plate o f the machine in which ismounted a gear ring 2, actuated by the ordinary driving` mechanism ofthe machine so that either ro: tating or reciprocating mo-tion may beimparted thereto, depending upon Whetherthe machine is knittinground-and-round or toand-fro. Upon this gear ring is mounted a needlecylinder 3, surrounded by a skeleton cylinder 4, which is secured to thegear ring 2, as `for instance, by means of screws or other fastenings,so that it always preserves the saine circumferential relation to`tli"e-`7`5- needle cylinder. Vertical adjustment of the needle cylinder3 is effected by means of pins 3 which pass freely through holes in thegear ring and are interposed between the bottom of the needle cylinderand a ring 3bv .which rests on the top of a cylinder 3c which 1ssusceptlble of vertical adjustment by means similar to those employed inthe Mayo machine, before referred to, for elfect i ing verticaladjustment of the needle cylinder. The gear ring 2 is provided with akey, as at 5, Which engages with a slot in the cylinder so as to be indriving connection with the latter. The cam ring 6 is mounted upon alfixed ring 7 on the bed 1 so as to bev free to turn thereon.

Machines of the Mayo type employ but a single stitch cam. or if themachine is a multi-feed machine it will have but a single stitch cam foreach yarn feed. In machines of this type it is necessary, in order tokeep the yarn supplying guide always inthe lead of said stitch cam, thata certain relative position be maintained between said guide and camduring the knitting operation, consequently when the machine isreciprocating for the performance of to-and-fro knitting the stitch cammust change its relation to the yarn feed on each change inthe diredtionof movement of the machine,in order that said yarn feed may always be inthe lead ofthe cam. When, as in the Mayo machine, the cam ring is themoving element,

certain amount of lost motion between the CIL driving gear ring and thecam ring, whereby, on each change in the direction of motion of saiddriving gear ring, the cam ring will remain stationary until" the yarnguide, (which, in this case, moves with the driving gear ring), hassecured the proper lead upon the stitch cam, but when the machine has arotating or reciprocating cylinder and the cam ring is normallystationary this method ot operation is not available. I have thereforedevised means whereby, in the latter type of machine, movement can beimparted to the cam ring on each'ehange in the direction of motion ofthe'needle cylinder, the stitch cam being thereby shifted in relation tothe yarn guide (which, in this case, is stationary) so as to preservethe 'proper lead otl said yarn guide over the stitch cam at all timesduring the knitting operation.

By preference, the cam ring should be positively moved to any desiredextent on each change in the direction of movement Y of the needlecylinder and its drive wheel,

and I have therefore provided means for this purpose as shown in Figs.1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 of the drawings, in which 144 represents the shaftcarrying the quadrant whereby back and forth movements are transmittedto the driving shaft of the machine, 142 the connecting rod wherebyrocking movement is imparted to said quadrant from a rotating drivewheel and 92 a shaft which controls the operation of the reinforcingmechanism of the yarn supply of the machine, and to which a rockingmotion about its vertical axis is imparted whenever the machine changesfrom rotary to to-and-ro knitting or vicel versa, these parts havingsimilar numbers to those applied to the corresponding parts as shown inthe Mayo 'patent above referred to, and operating in the same manner asthe corresponding parts in the machine of said patent. Upon the shaftv144 are mounted so as to be free to swing two levers 9 and 10, theleverv 10 being connected by a link 11 to the connecting rod 142,whereby the latter, which is constantly act-ing to impart rockingmovement to the toothedquadrant of the machine, also impartsV constantrocking movement to the lever 10. The hub of the lever 10 is slotted forthe reception of a key 13 carried by a pin 14 which is free to slidelongitudinally in a bored out portion of the end of thel shaft 144, thelatter also receiving a coiled spring 14a which acts upon a 14 so as toconstantly shoulder on the pin tend to project t e same. The lever 9 hasa bushing which is free to turn on the hub of the lever 10, and the hubof said lever 9 is provided With slots 13"l for the reception of the key13 when the latter has been moved into line with .said slots and thenmoved inward,- asshownin Fig. 4, the'key bein free frein the slots,however, when move outward, as shown in Fig. 3, the position o the keytherefore determining whether the lever 9 is clutched to the lever 10 oris free from operative connection therewith.

rlhe end portion of the shaft 144 is also slotted, as shown at 13b inFig. 1, the slots in said sha-ft and in the bushing of the lever 9 beingof such width as to permit tree play of the key 13 therein. A washer 15secured to the end 0f the shaft 144 serves to retain all of the parts inproper position upon the latter. The shaft 92 is provided, at a point inline with the pin 14, with a projecting pin 17, and when the machine isknitting round-and-round, said shatt 92 occupies the. position shown inFig. 3, the pin 17 being then at right angles to the pin 14 and treefrom contact therewith, so as to permit the spring 14a to project saidpin 14 to its i'ull extent. lVhen, however, the parts are operated so asto change the machine from round-and-round to to-and-fro knitting,rocking movement is imparted to the shaft 92 and the pin 17 isswung-around so as to strike the end of the pin 14 and move the sameinwardly, as shown in Fig. 4, this action taking place at a timev whenthe key 13 is in line with the slots in the hub of the lever 9 so astocause said key to enter said slots, thereby clutching the lever 9 tothe lever 10, and causing the two levers to reciprocate together. At theouter end of the lever'9 is a cam 19 which engages an anti-frictionroller 21 0r other suitable member on an arm 22, which is secured to anupright shaft 23 journaled in a bracket Q4, the latter being tixedlysecured to one or' the fixed members of the machine frame, for instanceL,o the member a of the same. At the upper endiof the shaft 23 is an arm25, which is connected by a link 26 to the ange of the cam ring 6, asshown in Fig. 2. lVhen the machine is knitting round-and-round the partsoccupy such relations to one another that the stitch cam of the cam ring6 occupies'the proper position in the rear of the 7arn uide fc. Theneedlesmay for instance, at this time, be traveling in the direction ofthe arrow shown in Fig. 6. As soon as the machine changes, however, fromroundand-round to to-and-ro knitting, the first etfect of this change ofmovement will be to cause the cam ring to move with the needle cylinderuntil the stitch cam occupies a position at the other side of the yarnguide as shownin :Fig 5, the needles then continuing "to move4 past thecam in the difection ot the arrow shown in the latter figure, and whenthe direction of movement of the machine is again changed, either :forthe production ot the second courseof to-and-,ro knitting -or forchanging from to-and-fro knitting back to roundand-round knitting, areverse movement ot' the-.stitch camy will-be effected until said-needles with the cam.

cam again bears the relation to the yarn guidem shown in Fig. 6 and theneedles will again move past the cam in the direction of thearrow shownin said figure. The cam 19 has, at each end of Athe inclined or actingportion 30 of the same, a straight portion 31 and when the cam is in oneof' its extreme positions, as shown in Fig. 2, the anti-friction roller21 of the arm 22 occupies one of these straight portions of the groove,and when the earn is in its other extreme position the anti-frictionroller occupies the other straight portion of the groove, as

shown in Fig. 7, so that in either of the extreme positions of the camthe arm 25 and consequently the cam ring 6 is locked against accidentalmovement, the cam ring being therefore held in the locked positionduring the entire time that knitting is being performed, whether sai-dknitting be round-and-round knitting or to-andfro .knitting In themodification of my invention shown in Figs. 8 and 9 the base flange ofthe cam ring 6 instead of being supported by a fixed .ring 7 on the bedplate as in the machine shown in Fig. l, rests directly upon the top ofthe drive ring 2 yand therefore tends constantly te partake of themovements of said drive ring. On the cam ring G, however, are a pair of'separated ll`1ga=-321pjrovided with -set screws 33, and on a fixed post34 of the machine is a projecting arm 35 whose inner end is inposition`to contact with the set screws 33. On each change in the'direction of movement of the drive ring 2, therefore, the cam ring 6will be caused to move therewith until such movement is arrested bycontact of one or other of the setscrews 33 with the fixed' arm 35, thismovement being just sufiicient to properly shift the stitch cam inrespect to the fixed yarn guide, so as to give the latter proper lead onthe cam when either reci rocating or to-and-fro knitting is being eected. l

The construction shown in Figs. l to 4 is preferable to themodifications shown in Figs. 8 and 9 for the reason that it provides aypositive movement of the cam ring instead of one dependent inponfrictional'confact of the cam ringwit-h the drive ring and therebyrelieve Ithe drive ring from the down- Ward pressure due 'to the contactof the Said construction also obviates the shock or jar whichnecessarily follows contact of either of the set screws 33 with thefixed stop 35.

I claim:

1. In a knitting machine the combination of a needle cylinder, means torotate said cylinder, means to oscillate said' cylinder, a fixed yarnguide, a cam ring carrying knitting lcams for the needles, means to movethe cam ring with respect to the yarn guide in th@ direction of movementof said needle -oscillate said cylinder, a

vand-fro knitting, of

-cam for said knitting moving the same on each change 1n the d1-`cylinder, and means' to hold the cam ring fixed in its adjustedposition.

2. In a knitting machine, the combination of a needle cylinder, means torotate and fixed yarn guide, a cam ring having knitting cams for theneedles, and means to more said cam ring through a fixed arc, in timewith. the' oscillations of the needle cylinder, at arate and to anextent independent of the movements of said needle cylinder.

3. 'The combination, in a knitting machine `susceptible of bothround-and-round and toand-fro knitting, of a moving needle cylinder, afixed yarn guide, and a knitting cam ring which during knitting bears afixed relation to the. yarn cam forsaid knitting cam ring, means formoving the same on eachv change in the direction of movement of theneedle cylinder, and means acted u on by said operating cam andconnected to he' knitting cam ring whereby positive movement to alimited extent is imparted to the latter'on each change in the directionof movement of the needle cylinder.

4. The combination, in a knitting machine susceptible of bothround-and-round and toa moving needle cylinder, a fixed yarn guide, anda knitting cam ring which during knitting bears a fixed re lation to theyarn guide, with anoperating cam ring, means for rection of movement ofthe needle cylinder, and means actedupon by said operating cam andconnected to the knitting cam. ring whereby positive movement to-alimited extent is imparted to the latter on each change in the directionof movement of the needle cylinder, said operating cam having an aet-ying member and locking. members at'each end of the same, whereby theknitting cam ring will be docked in position when at rest.

5. Thecombination, 1n a knitting machine susceptible of bothround-and-round and toand-fro knitting, of a moving. needle cylinder, afixed yarn guide, and a caln ring which during knitting bears a fixedrelation to the varn guide, with an operating cam for said knitting camring and intervening mechanism whereby said operating cam is caused toeffect posit-ive movement to a limited extent of the cam ring wheneverthere is any change'in .the direction'of movement of the needlecylinder, a lever carrying said operating cam, another lever havingconnection with a member Qf the needle-cylinder reciprocating mechanism,whereby rocking movement is imparted to said lever, and mechanism forclutching said cam-carrying lever to saidrockinglevcr or releasing ittherefrom.

6. The combination, in a knitting machine susce tible ofboth,ronnd-and-round and t0- andro knitting, of a nioving needleIcylinuide with an o A)eratin' der, a fixed yarn guide, and a knittingcam ring which during knitting bears a fixed relation to the yarn guide,with an operatin cam for said knitting cam ring and interveningmechanism whereby said operating cam is caused to eifect positivemovementto a limited extent of the knitting cam ring Whenever there isany. change in the direction of movement of the needle cylinder, a levercarrying said operating cam, another lever having connection with amember of the needle-cylinder-reciprocating mechanism whereby rockingmovement is imparted to said lever, mechanism for clutching saidcam-carrying lever to said rocking lever or releasing it therefrom, ashaft forming an element of the yarn reinforcing mechanism of themachine, and means whereby the operation of said shaft is caused toeffect 2O operation of the clutc 7. The combination, in a knittingmachine susceptible of both round-and-round and toand-fro knitting, of amoving needle cylinder, a fixed yarn guide, anda knitting cam ring whichduring knitting bears a fixed relation to the yarn guide, with anoperating cam for said knitting cam ring and intervening mechanismwhereby said operating cam is caused to effect positive movement to alimited extent of the knitting cam ring of the machine on each change inthe direction of movement of the needle cylinder, a lever carrying saidoperating cam, another lever having connection with a member of themechanism for imparting 'f .reciprocating movement to the needlecylinder, whereby rocking movement is imparted to said second .lever, aclutch member for locking together said cam lever and rocking lever, ashaft having rocking movement imparted thereto when the machine changesfrom round-and-round to toandfro knitting or from to andfro knitting toroundandround knitting, and a projection t on said shaft acting upon theclutch member to cause the same t'o move into locking position.

8. The combination, in a knitting machine susceptible of bothround-andround and toand-fro knitting, of a moving needle cylinder, afixed yarn guide, and a cam ring whichduring knitting bears a fixedrelation to the yarn guide, with a iXed support for said cam ring and aconnection between said cam ring and a moving member of the machine,Iwhich shifts its position on each change in the needle cylinder,whereby the cam ring will beposit-ively'moved on each such change andthe stitch cam will be shifted in respect to the yarn guideso as tocause the latter to preserve its proper lead over the cam during theknitting operation.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.'

HARRY SWINGLEHUR ST.

Witnesses:

THERESE lnr. MUnrHY. C. H. Bun'rr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Itateuts` Washington, D. C. t

the direction of the movement of

